Early years professionals are invited to partake in the Roles, Responsibilities, and Leadership in Early Childhood Education learning series. This series is intended for learners to engage with the College of Early Childhood Educators Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice through an Indigenous lens. Participants will engage with various forms of multi-media centered in First Nations, Métis, and Inuit worldview(s).
Suggested Uses for Early Childhood Educators:
Professional Reflection: Use the learning series to reflect on your own practice, exploring how your roles and responsibilities can align more closely with the College of Early Childhood Educators’ Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice through an Indigenous perspective.
Staff Development Workshops: Incorporate the learning series into professional development workshops for your team, fostering discussions on how to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing and being into everyday practice.
Curriculum Design: Apply insights from the series to design and implement curricula that honor and include First Nations, Métis, and Inuit perspectives, ensuring a more inclusive learning environment for all children.
Community Engagement: Use the series as a foundation to engage with local Indigenous communities, building stronger relationships and gaining a deeper understanding of their expectations, values, and contributions to early childhood education.
Mentorship and Leadership: Utilize the learning series to develop mentorship programs where experienced educators guide new or less experienced staff in understanding and applying Indigenous approaches to leadership, ethics, and practice.
Cultural Competency Training: Incorporate the series into cultural competency training to enhance awareness and understanding of Indigenous histories, cultures, and contributions among all staff members.
Resource Development: Draw on the content of the learning series to create resources such as handbooks, guides, or toolkits that can support educators in implementing Indigenous perspectives into their teaching practices.
Module 1 – Introduction and Standard One: Caring and Responsive Relationships
Indigenous Early Childhood Educators understand that caring and responsive relations include all our relations including human, animal, environment, and spirit.
Module 3 – Standard 3: Safety, Health, and Wellbeing
While our children are away from their family and in our care; it is our responsibility to provide a responsive quality environment that supports children’s curiosity and safe risk taking. Well-being encompasses attending to the mind, body , spirit and emotion.
Module 5 – Standard 5: Professional Boundaries, Dual Relationships, and Conflicts of Interest
Indigenous Early Childhood Educators value building respectful and reciprocal understandings with all our relations and see themselves as part of an integrated community. For Indigenous Early Childhood Educators this involves positioning the interest of the child, family and/or community over one’s personal roles or beliefs.
Module 2 – Standard Two: Curriculum and Pedagogy
For Indigenous educators it is important to engage Indigenous pedagogies in curriculum to support young Indigenous children in building vibrant identities rooted in the epistemologies and ontologies of the local Indigenous community. This is relational work.
Module 4 – Standard 4: Professionalism and Leadership
Indigenous Early Childhood Educators understand that leadership is shared amongst many; that is not hierarchal. Daily leadership emerges through the actions of educators, children, families, language, and land. Professionalism guides Educators to nurture and carry respectful relationships with self, child, families, colleagues, community, land, language and to our profession as Indigenous Early Childhood Educators.
Module 6 – Standard 6: Confidentiality, Release of Information and Duty to Report
It is the Indigenous Early Childhood Educator’s responsibility to be informed of the procedures of confidentiality, release of information and duty to report to ensure safety of our children and families. The duty to report, at times, can be very complex. It must be handled with respect and dignity in consideration for caring for a family.
Learning Outcomes:
Enhanced Leadership Skills: Educators will develop skills in leadership, communication, and advocacy, grounded in Indigenous teachings and approaches to community and relationship-building.
Informed Decision-Making: Educators will learn to make ethical decisions and demonstrate professional judgment that aligns with both the College’s standards and Indigenous ways of knowing and being.
Effective Use of Indigenous-Centered Multimedia: Educators will learn to utilize various forms of Indigenous-centered multimedia resources to enhance their understanding of roles, responsibilities, and leadership within early childhood education.
Holistic Understanding of Indigenous Worldviews: Educators will gain a deeper understanding of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit perspectives on education, leadership, and child development, and how these can enrich and inform their own practice.
Increased Cultural Competency and Sensitivity: Educators will improve their ability to work effectively with Indigenous children, families, and communities, fostering environments that are culturally responsive and supportive.
Reflective Practice: Educators will engage in self-reflection and critical thinking about their own roles and responsibilities, considering how their practices can better support and honor Indigenous children and their families.